CBS moving 'The Young and the Restless' from SoapNet to TV Guide Network

CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) said Wednesday that it will shift repeats of The Young and the Restless from Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) SoapNet to TV Guide Network this summer.

The move came two weeks after CBS struck a deal to acquire a 50 percent stake in TVGN and announced that it would rebrand the network, which is available in about 80 million cable and satellite homes. CBS is running TVGN through a joint venture with Lionsgate.

CBS isn't the first programmer to rebrand a cable network. Disney began converting SoapNet to new preschool channel Disney Junior last year. While most major pay TV providers have struck new carriage deals with Disney in which they agree to replace SoapNet with Disney Junior, Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) hasn't yet signed a contract renewal, and it continues to offer subscribers SoapNet. Its agreement with Disney is set to expire later this year.

Adding Y&R to the TVGN schedule is the only programming move CBS has made since taking control of the network. CBS and Lionsgate said they will rename TVGN later this year, but they haven't revealed the new brand.

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